U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,875 describes an electrical connector assembly which is intended for use on highway tractor trailers or agricultural tractors and agricultural implements. When the trailer is coupled to an over-the-highway or agricultural tractor, the electrical circuits in the trailer are connected to the control circuits and power circuits in the tractor by means of connectors on the tractor and on the trailer. The connectors used for this type of service must be robust and capable of withstanding hostile environments and abusive handling by semi-skilled or untrained personnel. Connectors used on highway and agricultural tractor trailers are subject to frequent damage, particularly failure of the wires, as when they are accidentally cut or severed and when such damage occurs, it is necessary to replace the terminal in the connector.
In accordance with the present practice, if a wire is severed, the terminal is removed from the connector housing, a new terminal is crimped onto the end of the severed wire (or the severed wire is replaced) and the new terminal is then inserted into the cavity which was vacated by the original terminal.
The operations of removing a terminal from the cavity in the connector, crimping a new terminal onto the wire, and inserting the terminal into the vacant cavity usually require specialized tools, such as crimping tools and possibly a terminal extraction or removing tool, and also require some skills on the part of the technician and some knowledge of the structure of the connector. If damage occurs at a location remote from a well equipped servicing center, such as a well-equipped shop, the tools may not be available and the technician assigned to perform the task may have only a limited knowledge of the structure of the connector and the repair steps he must carry out. The present invention is therefore directed to a connector which is improved in the sense that a damaged wire can be replaced with simple and readily available tools by a technician who has only very limited knowledge of the connector he must repair.
A connector in accordance with the invention has terminals contained in the terminal-receiving cavities of the connector housing. The terminals have cylindrical ferrule-receiving portions at their rearward ends. A wire is connected to the terminal by installing a simple cylindrical ferrule on the end of the wire and inserting this ferrule into the rearward end of the terminal. The rearward end of the terminal has an integral retaining spring which engages the ferrule after it has been inserted and retains it in the rearward end of the terminal. If a wire should be severed at any time, or if replacement of a wire is required for any reason, the retaining spring can be disengaged from the ferrule of the wire being replaced by the use of a simple readily available tool, such as a pocket knife blade or a screwdriver blade. A replacement ferrule can be installed on the end of a wire by use of a very simple crimping tool or by a soldering operation. The wire is reconnected to the terminal by then inserting the new ferrule into the rearward end of the terminal until the spring engages the new ferrule. The terminals in the connector are permanently installed and protected against damage so that the technician carrying out the repairs need never remove a terminal from the connector housing. The only parts required as spares, to permit repair of a connector, are a supply of cylindrical ferrules for the wires.